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Faceless Men
The Faceless Men are an order of assassins based out of Africanas where it is famous for posessing the ability to physically change their faces, shapeshifting so that they appear as an entirely new person. They consider themselves servants of the Many-Faced God, a god of death who is unknowingly worshiped by all religions in the world, in the form of one god or another. The Faceless Men are a cult of religious assassins that worship the Many-Faced God, and they believe that death is a merciful end to suffering. For a price, they will grant the "gift" of death to anyone in the world, considering the assassination a sacrament to their god. In their temple - the House of Black and White - those who seek an end to suffering may drink poisoned water which grants a painless death. Killing for personal gain or out of anger or hate are forbidden to Faceless Men. As the Faceless Men forsake their identities in the service of the Many-Faced God, they only assassinate targets they have been hired to kill and may not choose who is worthy of the 'gift' by themselves. Faceless Men are trained to relinquish their former identities and become "no one", which allows them to become entirely different people, all in service to the Many-Faced God. They also believe that, as servants of death, they must serve above all else and that they must deliver upon certain people the "gift" of death. History Early History Government Tenants Inner workings and assassinations For a price, the guild will agree to kill anyone in the known world, considering this contract to be a sacrament of their god. The price is always high or dear, but within the means of the person if they are willing to make the sacrifice. The cost of their services also depends on the prominence and security of the target. An elite group of followers within the House, the Faceless Men, are trained to perform this task. Only a few Faceless Men have been women. Even more rarely would they train a child. They are trained to use all their senses to root out deception and create their disguises, seemingly possessing magical abilities that allow them to change their appearance at will. Part of their training includes discarding their true identity in a nihilistic way, thinking of themselves as "no one". The Faceless Men convene in a chamber in the House of Black and White to discuss potential assignments and dole out contract assassinations. They discuss the potential deaths in the Braavosi language, though some may speak in High Valyrian. Debates can become very heated. An assassin only accepts an assignment if they are unfamiliar with the target. Religion Followers of Him of Many Faces consider death to be part of the natural order of things and a merciful end to suffering. According to the guild, the god is present in many religions, under different names. They claim he is called the Black Goat in Qohor, the Lion of Night in Yi Ti, and the Stranger in the Faith of the Seven. The guild's House of Black and White in Braavos has a large sanctuary that contains a pool of black water, idols of many death gods and altars with candles, and small alcoves along the walls that contain stone beds. Some visiting worshippers light candles to their god, then drink from the pool using a stone cup, then go lie in one of the alcoves. The religious order refills the fountain with a poison, so that drinking from the fountain leads to a painless death. This is sometimes referred to as "the gift" of the Many Faced God. Some alcoves, called "dreaming couches", have special candles that bring visions of the past, for a sweet and gentle death. When a body is found, it checked to see if the person is completely dead, and then serving men will take the body down into the vaults. There acolytes will strip and wash the bodies, which are then taken to a lower sanctum where only the priests may go. Every morning at dawn, one of the priests leads the acolytes and novices in prayer, as they kneel around the black pool. There is another prayer at evening. Other than that, there are no formal services, no songs or paeans to the god. Sometimes a worshipper will ask to speak with a priest, who will meet with them in the sanctum. The priests wear cowled robes, black on the right side and white on the left. Acolytes' robes have no cowls, and are black on the left side and white on the right. Novices wear a black and white robe with a black undertunic. Servants of the temple wear a tunic of undyed wool, baggy breeches, linen smallclothes, and cloth slippers. Blind acolytes are common in the House of Black and White. Category:Assassins Category:Military Order